


Letters and Whatnots

by MissParasol



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Letter fic, M/M, Shonen Ai, Time Skips, snail mail, writings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-28
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-02-27 08:06:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2685416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissParasol/pseuds/MissParasol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At age 14, Kudo Shinichi finds a letter in a glass bottle hidden up in a large oak tree. 2 weeks later, Kuroba Kaito receives a letter in his mailbox from a stranger, and he's the happiest that he could have ever been. Kaishin sort of AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 始まり

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinichi finds a letter in a glass bottle, and is curious.

# Letters and Whatnots

## Chapter 1

It was a gleam of silver that caught his attention; way too bright to be merely light passing through the leaves of the trees and branches of the park. It shone and glimmered at him from up high in the tall oak tree, and a 14 year old Kudo Shinichi knew that it couldn't be anything but glass.

The brilliant detective paused, lowered his Sherlock Holmes' book just a tad bit lower and squinted up at the tree.

What was a glass bottle doing up there in an Oak tree?

He could only deduce that someone had intentionally placed it there for whatever mystifying reasons that Shinichi didn't know. And truth to be told, he really couldn't be bothered. He'd really rather finish reading his Sherlock Holmes' book instead.

And so, Kudo Shinichi walked on, away from the glass bottle and away from the tall oak tree. After all, it would probably be gone by tomorrow.

* * *

 

But alas, it wasn't.

In the subsequent days that he had to walk through the park, the glass bottle had remained untouched among the green leaves and crooked branches of the tall oak tree.

And he could confidently say that without his favourite Sherlock Holmes' book to distract him (he’d already finished reading it thrice), he was considerably curious about the glass bottle.

So, on the seventh day from when he'd first noticed the glass bottle, he decided to climb the tall oak tree and retrieve the glass bottle.

Needless to say, he was quite surprised to see a handwritten letter in it.

"How cliché,” was his first thought. “I wonder what’s written inside,” was his second and things progressed from there.

* * *

_Dear Whomever It May Concern_

  
_First of all, why an oak tree?_

  
_Second, why are you trying to make friends using such an unconventional method? It’s the 21st century. There’s something called emails and online pen pals which takes a lot less effort._

  
_Thirdly, just curious. Why did you choose to place your letter in Beika, specifically? It’s pretty far from your home, isn’t it?_

  
_And as a side note, maybe you should reconsider giving away your address so easily. It’s not very safe and I could be a serial killer._

  
_Yours Sincerely  
_ _K.S_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only tweaked it slightly~ My apologies for this chapter being so short, but they’ll probably be longer from chapter three onwards when the plot picks up.   
> I imagine Shinichi at the young age of 14 would have a very sarcastic sense of humor and also a burning curiosity (which gets him in trouble) and this makes him reply to the letter in the first place. Kaito, being the same age, is also young and bright and is struck by new interesting ideas left and right and he is not afraid to try them all out, no matter how unconventional his ideas are.   
> Anyway, thanks for taking an interest in my work :>   
> Hope this had been an enjoyable read for all of you~
> 
> Signing off,  
> MissParasol


	2. 黒羽 快斗

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito gets a reply and is the happiest he'd ever been

He’d actually received a reply.

His letter in a bottle that was hidden in an oak tree had been found by someone (he was afraid it’d go unnoticed; he hid it pretty well in his opinion), and that someone had actually bothered enough to reply.

Granted it took a total of two weeks; snail mail wasn’t that slow. However, a reply was still a reply, no matter how slow it was.

And this made Kuroba Kaito the happiest he had been in a very long while.

* * *

 

He’d imagined his new pen pal to be like him; cheerful, upbeat and maybe even a little childish. Sociable, friendly and outgoing.

So, it was understandable that Kuroba Kaito was just a little bit baffled at the fact that his pen pal’s reply was no more than a quarter of a page long.

But that didn’t matter; he’d loved his pen pal’s reply. Even if it was ridiculously short.

His new pen pal (or only pen pal, for that matter) was as much humorous as he was snarky, and Kaito couldn’t help but smile at the sarcastic undertones of the letter.

He clutched at the letter tightly, as if it was his prized trophy.

Sure, this person named K.S wasn’t anything like what he’d expected, but Kaito wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

* * *

 

 

_Dear Serial Killer-san_

 

_:0_

_Is that why u put ur initials as K.S?! Flip them around and it actually stands for serial killer?? Nuuuu pls don’t kill me, there’s still many things I wanna do before I die!! ><_

_…_

_lol_

_honestly, if u were a serial killer, u would have killed me by now since u know my address. But it’s been 2 weeks and all I got was a letter in reply~ So I highly doubt it hehe_ _Ｏ_ _(_ _≧▽≦_ _)_ _Ｏ_

_but!_

_in the case u are biding your time and seeking the right moment to erase my existence—!_

_My friend Aoko is the daughter of a police investigator; it won’t be easy! (_ _ง_ _•̀_•́)_ _ง_

 _...but even so, don’t actually try and kill me okay? (´_ _；_ _Д_ _；｀_ _)_

_also!! How old are u?? u sound reallllyyy old from your letter, are u an adult?? businessman?? cause u write in such proper sentences!! >< I wanna know who im talking to~_

_hehe as for me, u can call me Kaito!! u should tell me ur name too, serial killer-san~_

_oh ya. also, to answer all 3 of your questions—_

_* **drumrollllllll***_

_there’s no reason in particular!!_ _｡ﾟ_ _✶_ _ฺ_ _._ _ヽ_ _(*´_ _∀_ _`*)_ _ﾉ_ _._ _✶_ _ฺ_ _ﾟ｡_ _I just felt like it lolol_

_Oh, I guess its also because mom likes Beika?? she was the one who suggested it~_

_thanks for replying me btw!!! And next time…write longer == one quarter of a page is simply unacceptable! <(_ _｀_ _^_ _´_ _) >  (im also assuming u will reply which u should because i have ur address now & i will find u so u cant say no to being penpals)_

_mom is calling me, I gtg now >< heh, cant skip my daily trainings _

_from_

_kaito_ ♥

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaito’s letter was really fun to write lolol; when compared to Shinichi his writing is just like ???punctuations??grammar?? and a lot of emoticons~ I’m excited myself to see Shinichi’s reaction to Kaito’s letter haha  
> The plot still hasn’t picked up yet, but please look forward to it :>  
> Thanks for reading <3
> 
> Signing off  
> MissParasol


	3. 最後の手紙

Shinichi likened Ran’s voice to bells and chimes; light and airy and silvery but nevertheless clear. Even when she was upset and mad and positively furious, her voice still rang clear and Shinichi found himself being inexplicably drawn to her.

The ever constant presence of her voice, and _her,_ grounded Shinichi to the present.

She was the only thing, only person, only _friend_ that was constant in his life.

Shinichi watched people come and go, stepping in and out of his life as if they never even existed because everyone moves on and change and vanish without a trace. He had acquaintances that he associated with only for a particular period of time, and then there wouldn’t be any contact between them again, because nothing is constant in Shinichi’s life, and Shinichi is bad at keeping in touch and making small talks and maintaining relationships.

Ran, however, never left his side and made an effort to be a constant presence in Shinichi’s life despite his inadequacies.

And for that, Shinichi was grateful, because ironically even his parent’s presence in his life was fleeting.

Ran, sweet and kind Ran with a loving soul was probably the only one who would bother with a socially awkward and blunt person like him. And Shinichi was fine and preferred it the way it was, because he had gotten used to being alone the moment his parents left him for overseas, and in return he had the privacy and freedom in the things he wanted to do; cases he wanted to solve.

So, he’d fully expected to be coming home to an empty mansion drowned in silence, along with the lush greenery of a vast empty field and a dirty, empty mailbox.

He’d never expected there to be a reply from his mysterious letter sender, especially after how he’d replied so crudely.

He didn’t understand why his mysterious letter sender would even _bother_ , wasn’t this usually just a one-time impulse thing? Why bother? Shinichi didn’t exactly made a good conversation partner.

He stood, still dressed in his beige shirt and jeans and dirty sneakers, staring at the hastily crumpled piece of _white_ shoved into his mailbox.

His curiosity _burned,_ along with something else entirely that he really couldn’t place a finger on, and reached for the envelope.

He nimbly opened the letter, ignoring the fact that he still had his backpack slung over his shoulder and that he was still standing dumbly outside of his house, and his eyes skimmed through the letter.

And then his mind came to a blank once he read the contents of the letter.

…

His letter sender…didn’t know how to write a proper letter.

* * *

 

_Dear Kaito_

_I hate to break this to you, and I apologize for starting the letter off so crudely, but… dear god, your writing etiquette is horrid._

_I’m not kidding. Really. It’s bad and you need to seek help. I hope you don’t write like that in formal letters? It could reflect badly on you._

_I mean, I guess it’s a pretty…refreshing way of writing, but doesn’t it tire you out? It must have taken you a long time to hand draw all of those emoticons, I assume. Why go through all that effort? I can still understand you perfectly well even without those weird symbols, and it’s less tiring on the eyes._

_Also, no. K.S was just a symbol for my name. I guess you can just call me Shinichi instead of Serial Killer-san because me being a murderer is highly improbable considering that I am pretty close to the police force in Beika. Also, Ran would kill me if I ever turned out to be one. She’s the daughter of a detective and is ridiculously strong; you don’t want to piss her off._

_I guess you are close to the police force in Ekoda, too? Your close friend is the daughter of a police investigator, after all._

_Also, because you were wondering, I’m not a businessman. Neither am I a police officer, in case you were guessing. I’m just a regular student, just like you._

_I’ll end my letter here; I got a call from the Beika police force that they just came across a closed murder case. It’s always better to be at the scene rather than trying to find clues from a picture. This way you can make full use of your senses to unmask the culprit._

_It’s a full page length this time; significantly longer than my previous one as you have ~~demanded~~ requested. I hope you are satisfied._

_Yours Sincerely  
Shinichi_

_P.S In the case that I don’t reply, **do not** come over to my address. I’ll get Ran to half-kill you._

* * *

 

_Dear Shinichi_ ♡ 

_U replied again!!! Yayyyy!!_ _｡ﾟ_ _✶_ _ฺ_ _._ _ヽ_ _(*´_ _∀_ _`*)_ _ﾉ_ _._ _✶_ _ฺ_ _ﾟ｡_

_i was really afraid u weren’t going to > <_ _but u did!! shin chan, ur the best!!_

_saved me a trip to Beika, heh~ though half of me didn’t wanted u to reply so we could have a slumber party at ur house!! awwww that’s really too bad now that i think abt it : <_

_but it’s a O-K! we can have it another day! heh_

_oh!! about the emoticons~ they r really cute, aren’t they~~  i actually prepared a list of emoticons to use in writing u hehe_

_i worked really hard!! praise me, shin chan~ uwu_

_ALSO_

_:o_

_:0_

_:O_

_ur a student?!! but ur working with the police??? they actually let you work on site with them??? but ur a student???_ _∑（｡･Д･｡）_ _???_

_that must mean u r a very capable cop, shin chan!! o(* >ω<*)o _

_hehehe_

_and yeah!! im pretty close to Nakamori keibu since he’s aoko’s dad and all but i don’t get involved in the investigations > < not my area of expertise~ _

_besides Nakamori keibu is really protective (possessive? hmmm) of his job; he hates it when kids (everyone minus him) stick their noses in~_

_tell me more of yrself, shin chan!! the police actually calls u everytime there’s a murder case? :O_

_with love_

_kai chan_ ♥

_p.s how did u know im still studying?? :000 i didn’t mention it…omg. perhaps… ur a stalker?!_ _∑_ _(_ _ﾟﾛﾟ〃_ _)_

* * *

 

After a few more weeks and the subsequent exchange of mails, the dreaded day of Sonoko and Ran, _especially Sonoko_ , finding out about Kaito finally came and Shinichi wished he’d left with his parents for wherever the hell they went last year, because Ran kept casting him bemused glances throughout the week.

And Sonoko. Oh _god_ , _Sonoko._ Once Sonoko _knew,_ Shinichi’s life drastically turned for the worse and he swore that Sonoko actually had a grudge against him because she was hell-bent on ruining his reputation and image in school and mainly pissing him off (which was working very effectively).

“The _great Kudo Shinichi,_ aloof and mysterious and a detective _genius_ all at once! Exchanging mails! In _glass bottles!_ ” She breathed hard through her fit of loud laughter, tears forming in the corner of her eyes and Shinichi scowled.

“We’re exchanging mails through _regular_ post _, idiot,_ ” he hissed and Ran giggled as she stepped into place in between them. Her voice chimed.

“Now, now,” she said, and her eyes twinkled with mirth. “There isn’t anything wrong with exchanging mails. Sonoko, stop bugging Shinichi,” she chided lightly, the wind blowing past her hair as they walked through the streets.

Sonoko only had a look of incredulity plastered onto her face, as if Ran was speaking alien. “Sure, but for _Shinichi_ , it certainly isn’t! Mystery-sherlockholmes-detective-otaku _Kudo Shinichi?_ He doesn’t do _communication_ , and he’s _exchanging mails._ With a _stranger._ ” Sonoko had one hand resting on her hip as she jabbed a finger across Ran at Shinichi. Their eyes met and Sonoko gave him a long, considering look, before she once again burst out in laughter after trying her best to hold it in. “Also—finding a letter in a _glass bottle_? Shinichi, have you even stopped to consider how cliché all this is? It’s actually hilarious if you think about it!” She exclaimed, somewhat seriously and somewhat mockingly. “Man, I’ve got to tell the rest about this.”

Shinichi sighed, and Ran smiled at him sheepishly in a subtle apology for her friend’s antics. “Telling them _literally_ doesn’t affect me in any way,” he started, feeling slightly less irked after Ran’s small smile of comfort. “They aren’t my friends, so I could hardly care less,” he continued rather nonchalantly and Sonoko _still_ had that gleeful look on her face like she was plotting Shinichi’s murder. Which she probably was.

“But your reputation is on the line, _modern day Sherlock Holmes_ ~” she sang and Shinichi grimaced slightly because that was true, and frankly, his reputation was significantly important to him although he would never admit it.

He covered up his discomfort with a smug smile, and replied, “My reputation stems from my ability and skills in crime scenes. No matter what, I am good at what I do, _and people will recognize it._ ”

“Well, _yeah_ , but you have a lousy personality!” Sonoko retorted back quickly without putting much thought into it and Shinichi had no clue how her reply was relevant to their argument that he found himself blinking.

“And yours isn’t?” He replied rhetorically, and frowned. “Also, how is this relevant to our argument over the letters?”

Sonoko paused in the midst of another sarcastic retort, contemplating. She blinked, much like how Shinichi did earlier, and hummed. “It isn’t,” she replied, and Ran laughed.

Just like that, they dropped the subject of Shinichi’s mysterious letter stranger and continued on with their walk back home as if the previous argument had never occurred in the first place because this was the dynamic between the three of them; and this was how they got along despite their differences.

And Shinichi wouldn’t have it any other way.

* * *

 

_Dear shin chan~_

_guess what shin chan!!! u appeared in the ekoda news again today!!! (_ _ᗒᗨᗕ_ _) shin chan, ur so popular~_

_heard u solved another mystery murder case again~ was that the one u were ranting about??? the one who killed his brother over a mobile game?_ _(_ _￣∇￣_ _)_

_people sure are scary nowadays… (;_ _´д｀_ _)_

_anyway, i thought about it and—_

_exchanging mails with such a popular figure, ahhhh i must be the luckiest guy in the world!! i’m best friends with the modern heisei holmes!! how cool is that omg (_ _๑_ _> ᴗ<_ _๑_ _)_ _(_ _๑_ _> ᴗ<_ _๑_ _)_ _(_ _๑_ _> ᴗ<_ _๑_ _)_

_but not as cool as my dad!! sorryyyy shin chan, but dad > everyone uwu_

_i haven’t told u this, but my dad’s a famous magician!! he’s the best around and nobody can beat him and he’s the coolest!! sorry shin chan, u can’t beat him_

_(_ _｡_ _-_ _∀_ _-)_

_…_

_…_

_…_

_(it’s ok shin chan i still love u <3)_

_DON’T BE SAD SHIN CHAN,_

_Kai chan xoxo_

* * *

 

_Dear Kaito_

_I’m not sad._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Shinichi_

* * *

 

_Dear shin chan_

_ehh?! a one-liner??!! shin chan, u meanie : <<<_

_DON’T BE A MEANIE SHIN CHAN,_

_Kai chan :D_

* * *

 

_Dear Kaito_

_Don’t call me shin chan._

_From,_

_Shinichi_

* * *

 

And then Shinichi fell into a routine of checking his letterbox once every few days when he returned from school. Upon realization of his just recently attained habit, he continued doing so even though he felt that it was ridiculously stupid, and he couldn’t help the indescribable warmth that bubbled up from deep within his chest whenever he spotted a crumpled piece of white in his letterbox.

Kaito became a constant presence in his life through his letters and Shinichi realized that he couldn’t exactly tell the date in which Kaito stopped being a mere weirdo whom he was exchanging letters with, and became a _friend_ instead.

But what he could tell was that the moment he came to that conclusion that he considered Kaito as a friend, was also the moment he realized that the gnawing feeling in his chest and the churning deep in his stomach was undisputedly worry.

Worry.

Shinichi was worried and he knew the reason why.

It’s been close to a month and half, and Kaito…was no longer replying any of his letters.

* * *

 

_Dear Kaito_

_I know I’ve already said this in my previous letters but…_

_Is everything okay? You haven’t been replying much... I hope everything is well for you over there._

_I’m doing fine, as per usual; Ran and Sonoko are the same as always. How’s Aoko and Nakamori Keibu? Doing fine?_

_I just recently managed to solve the serial killer case; the one I was talking (writing?) to you about in my previous letter…if you’ve read it, that is._

_I really don’t have much to tell you, it’s pretty hard conversing with myself._

_Do reply soon, Kaito. Hope you’re safe and well._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Shinichi_

_P.S …I just wanted to let you know that if you are facing any sort of problems, I’ll be willing to lend you a hand. I’m not the Heisei Sherlock Holmes for nothing, after all. Just drop me a ~~message~~ letter if you do._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaito stopped replying??? Wait what??? Uh oh Shinichi please don't be sad, we'll always be here for you :<  
> ...  
> Jokes aside, SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. I guess things are still going slow as of now, but no worries, things are definitely picking up from here on :D
> 
> Thank you for reading and sticking by me!!
> 
> Signing off,  
> MissParasol


	4. 怪盗キッドの復活

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito takes the time to think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: im sorry kaito

_A dimly lit banquet hall, with stage lights flashing bright on the figure he admires with all his heart. He hears the amazed whispers and cheers of the audience as the man yet again accomplished an impossible feat for his finishing act, and his heart brims sweet._

_An indescribable awe fills as he watches the man take a deep bow on his grand stage. He distractedly ignores the tugging on his sleeve and his companion’s calls for his attention, because he is enthralled, and his eyes is solely fixated on the magician before him._

_Their eyes meet for a single second that seems to last much longer than it should, before the magician exits the stage and walks towards him._

_With warm brown eyes and a soft smile, the magician calls his name endearingly, “Kaito—”_

_—And then, it’s an abrupt sea of yellow and orange, bright and explosive and loud, much like fireworks._

_He finds himself in the midst of a frenzied crowd, watching the explosion of colours in the distant night sky as the people around him pushed, and he realizes._

_He throws his hands out from where he stood, reaching out desperately for the magician, and he calls out his name. “Dad—!”_

—And Kaito wakes, sweating and tangled in his bedsheets. He stares at his ceiling through the darkness of his room, and whispers just once more, in the silence of the night.

_Dad._

* * *

 “I had a dream yesterday,” Kaito suddenly started, right in the middle of a long-winded rant of his childhood friend.

Aoko paused in the midst of her exaggerated movements, momentarily stunned by the sheer abruptness of it all, before letting her arms slump down back to her sides in defeat. “That’s the first thing you say to me after ignoring me all day?”

Kaito let his lips quirk up in humor despite the nagging feeling of guilt welling up in his gut. “I thought you’d appreciate a day off,” he shrugged, and added with a teasing leer. “Unless you actually like my usual pranks, heh.”

Aoko frowned, and huffed in annoyance. “No, I don’t. I hate all of them, especially those with regards to my underwear,” she replied stubbornly and sank into the seat next to Kaito. “So,” she continued with a curious tilt of her head. “What of your dream? You’re really out of it today; you usually pull enough pranks to cause a daily mayhem.”

Kaito shifted his eyes away from hers, and stared at the whiteboard at the front of the classroom. The classroom was empty, with it being after school hours and them being the last to leave. Aoko stared at him with her honey brown eyes, unrelenting and patient.

“Remember we once went to a dinner party together?”

Aoko’s brows furrowed up in deep thought. “Dinner… party? You mean the one held by the school two years ago?”

“No, not that. The one nine years ago.”

“Nine years ago…? Huh, that’s pretty long ago—Oh!” She exclaimed as bits and pieces of her memory clicked in her mind. “You mean that one with your dad?”

“Ah, yeah. He did some magic tricks then. Man, that was really a while ago, huh,” Kaito reminisced, letting the wave of nostalgia wash over him.

Aoko giggled. “Yeah, I remember you were so amazed by your dad you ignored me for the whole performance.”

Kaito grinned triumphantly at that. “That’s how good my dad is,” he boasted. “You don’t hold a candle to him; of course I wouldn’t pay attention to you,” he continued cheekily, and dodged one of Aoko’s pen that came flying over.

Aoko huffed indignantly, settling herself back into her seat. With reluctance, she let the insult drop. “Well, go on. What’s the point of bringing this up?”

“I dreamed about that dinner party,” he answered ruefully, and Aoko blinked in realization, all traces of previous annoyance disappearing.

“Oh,” she breathed, and Kaito felt her concerned gaze on him more than actually seeing it. “I miss your dad too, Kaito,” she comforted, patting him on the shoulder, and Kaito gave a noncommittal grunt of acknowledgment.

They sat in silence for a good few seconds after, neither really knowing what else to say, before Kaito spoke up. “What if… What if his death wasn’t an accident?”

There was a pause, and Aoko blinked her honey eyes in surprise. “What? What do you mean? It was an accident; that’s the result of the investigation,” she said, and when Kaito didn’t reply, she continued firmly. “Kaito, the case is closed; it was an _accident_. Nobody could have prevented it, and there’s nothing we can do about it now. Mulling over it will only make you feel worse.”

“Kaito?” She repeated worriedly at his continued silence. “You miss him and you’re just having a bad day. You’ll feel better soon, I promise. For now, let’s not think too much about it, yeah?”

Aoko’s eyes were tinged with concern and her words were soft and soothing. Kaito nodded, still deep in his thoughts as if he were unravelling a mystery, and Aoko sighed in exasperation. “Oh, alright. Come on, get up and pack, Kaito. We’ll go to the café downtown and you can try to get yourself out of this funk with your desserts.”

Kaito blinked as he snapped out of his thoughts at the mention of desserts, and looked up to meet her gaze. He grinned. “You’re treating?”

“ _Of course_ _not,_ have you seen how much you eat? You foot your own bill!” She scowled, and Kaito laughed.

“Che, stingy,” he harrumphed but with good humor, and grinned again.

Despite it all, Aoko was still a ridiculously good friend, and Kaito was glad to have her company if nothing else.

* * *

 Kaito finished his letter with a small flourish, his pen gliding smoothly and drawing cursives across the crisp white paper. His mind was clear and grounded, and he no longer felt as unsettled as he was the previous days. He laid his eyes on the crumpled pieces of white paper sitting at one side of his desk, and he slides a finger over the top of stack in consideration.

Shinichi hadn’t gave up sending him letters even without a reply from him in a month. His heart warmed at that thought and the obvious concern that his penpal displayed. No doubt, Shinichi would want to know the reason for his short term disappearance and lack of contact from that period of time (he needed to _think_ , especially after stumbling upon the secret base in his room), and Kaito agreed that Shinichi (and maybe Aoko) deserved this explanation as well, as his penpal and as his friend.

But it was precisely because of that, that Kaito would keep Shinichi out of his mess.

Because Shinichi was his friend, and he’ll _never_ let Shinichi get hurt.

He nodded to himself with this thought in mind, giving his letter one last look over to scan for any discrepancies. When he found nothing to be dissatisfied with, he stood and turned to face the portrait of the man he admired, of his _father_.

He stared at it for a good few second or two, before letting his lips curl up in his usual cheeky grin.

He raised his hand, pressed it against the portrait, and _pushed._

And on that day, Kuroba Kaito entered the labyrinth of no return— and into the territory of the legendary phantom thief, _Kaito KID._

* * *

  _Dear Shin chan,_

_…_

_I AM_

_REALLY_

_REALLY_

_SORRY OTL_

_This might sound rly ridiculous to you but!! I couldn’t reply to any of yr mails or write u because mum brought me overseas for emergency bonding time!! ><”_

_IM NOT KIDDING SHIN CHAN IM SERIOUS DESPITE HOW STUPID IT SOUNDS U RLY GOT TO BELIEVE ME_

_MUM IS CRAZY_

_WE WENT TO AFRICA FOR CHARITY WORK_

_HOW IS THAT FAMILY BONDING_

_KIDS WERE HANGING OFF ME EVERYWHERE THERE WERE LIKE 30 OF THEM AT ONCE I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE_

_Anyway!! So I didn’t receive yr mails (0bviously) and couldn’t write u (d u h) and anyway even if I could I was too busy for that lol_

_AND BEFORE U GET ANGRY FOR ME NOT TELLING U BEFOREHAND_

_IT WAS AN “EMERGENCY TRIP”_

_I WAS NOT FOREWARNED_

_SHIN CHAN ITS RLY NOT MY FAULT MUM DRUGEGD ME AND SMUGGLED ME THERE  (_ _´；ω；_ _`)_

_Pls forgive me shin chan_ _ಥ_ ___ _ಥ_

_…_

_But thx for worrying! <3 Now I know u luv me, heh _

_As apology, let’s meet soon!! >< I’ll treat u to smt? :>_

_Muacks_

_Kai chan_ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP Kaito here comes a shitload of angst
> 
> Anyway, sorry for the wait! I actually finished this a while back but never had the time to proofread and edit till Uni ended (let’s hope I did ok…) but here you go. Hope y’all enjoyed this fic up till now and also what’s to come :> (foreshadowing for shinichi right here)
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me despite my really bad updating schedules and inconsistent writing style LOL
> 
> 頑張ります！！
> 
> Signing off,  
> MissParasol


	5. シルバーブレット

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> KID gets a surprise visit from his pen-pal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im following canon, but only loosely since writing letters didn’t actually happen in the real timeline of DCMK. I will also (try to) start lengthening the chapters so I can cover more stuff in each chapter.
> 
> The heist is actually the clock tower heist, with a lot of things changed so just… take everything with a pinch of salt imsosorry

_Dear Kaito,_

_Glad to hear from you again._

_Don’t worry; I’ve had my fair share of experience of crazy moms so you don’t need to freak._

_Doesn’t change the fact that not hearing from you for months was kind of unsettling, though. Hmmm, guess we really came a long way from the first time we exchanged letters and I was still iffy about writing you, huh._

_Anyway, you’re back in Ekoda, now?_

_Yours Sincerely,  
Kudo Shinichi_

_P.S about the meetup—sure. I’m free on the 23 rd. Beika station?_

* * *

 

“Like I said,” Shinichi repeated in exasperation, looking at his long suffering friend with a pained expression as if he was talking to a petulant child, “I don’t have the time for that. Or motivation."

Sonoko stared back at him with an equally disdainful expression etched on her face. She folded her arms in what Shinichi felt was an ineffective attempt at a display of dominance and maybe intimidation but Shinichi knew inspector Satou, and _no one_ compared to her. “Uh huh. So?”

“So. I am not doing it.”

“Why not?”

Shinichi breathed out slowly, ignoring the throbbing of his temple as he reigned in his frustration because they were in public and he had an image to maintain. Ran was walking along quietly in amusement at their antics, her arms swinging lowly by her sides. “Because I have cases to solve. Criminals to catch. People to _save_. And maybe also because I’m _not interested!_ ”

Sonoko exhaled through her nose in an imitation of Shinichi’s I-am-talking-to-a-grade-schooler attitude, and Shinichi found himself bristling at that, because _how dare she._ “But _I’m interested!”_

And Ran who decided to make her presence known, snorted out a laugh at Shinichi’s _I-need-divine-intervention-in-my-life_ expression, because there was actually no way to win Sonoko in an argument. “Well,” she mused, holding her chin with her thumb. “You could give it a try? Maybe you could actually catch him, Shinichi.”

“For me,” Sonoko added, looking at Shinichi with a hopeful gaze that Shinichi dutifully ignored.

“Kaitou KID’s just a harmless thief who returns what he steals and has a ‘no one gets hurt’ policy. I’d much rather catch murderers than a thief like that; that way I’d at least be doing the world some good,” Shinichi explained, choosing not to question Sonoko’s obsession over holding the phantom thief captive. In the first place, Sonoko probably haven’t realized that the implications of her request—when put simply, was just sending Kaitou KID to jail.

Ran hummed in understanding, but Sonoko only snorted and looked to the side in distaste. Seriously, _why_ were they friends again? “Bet you’re just scared you can’t catch him, you half-baked otaku.”

“That’s not true,” Shinichi protested in irritation, and a few minutes of Sonoko’s disbelieving look and Ran’s all-knowing smile, he relented with a groan, like he always did when he was faced with the Sonoko-Ran duo. “ _Oh my god,_ alright, _fine_! Just this once, okay?”

“ _Great_!” At his reply, Sonoko snapped her fingers, her frown instantly turning into a beaming smile and Shinichi shuddered at the mess he had gotten himself into. What did Sonoko even want with a captive Kaitou KID in jail? Bail him out and then have KID forever be indebted to her?

Whipping out her phone, her thumb danced excitedly across the keypads in a speed that Shinchi could never hope to compare, being hopeless at texting. “Hold on, I’ve got info on the date of the heist. The time and treasure is still unknown but I’ll text you the—”

“—No need,” Shinichi interrupted airily, waving his hand casually as he continued trudging along the gravelly path.

At Sonoko’s and Ran’s confused stares from behind his back, he turned to face them with a smirk. “I’ve already figured it out, the heist.”

He wasn’t the _Heisei Holmes_ for nothing.

* * *

 

 _“When the moon is split into two_  
_Under the name of the jet black star_  
_Washed in the waves_  
_I will appear_

_Kaitou KID”_

* * *

 

_2330 hours_

Sonoko gaped, standing in the midst of a chattering crowd, all decked out in KID’s fan merchandise and cheer light sticks. The full moon hung high above, shining and luminescing the famed Clock Tower and Sonoko, realizing that her jaw was hanging off her face unattractively, shut it with an audible click.

Shinichi was right.

KID had really been aiming for the Clock Tower, by the looks of the excessive amount of police cars and scuttling officers and barricades. How he’d even figured it out along with the time of the heist, she hadn’t had a clue because frankly she had all but tuned him out the moment he started explaining something about moon splitting and some sort of hands. “Clock hands?” She muttered to herself subconsciously as she pondered over the remnants of memories of Shinichi’s deduction.

Ran chuckled softly beside her; Sonoko’s mind wasn’t all too difficult to read due to her expressive nature. “The heist is at midnight because Shinichi said that only then, the clock hands on the tower will be pointing directly upwards, and therefore splitting the moon into two.” She frowned. “And then something about the black star and waves referring to the clock tower? And the only full moon was today.”

Halfway through her explanation, Sonoko had turned her head to look at Ran incredulously, because Ran amazed her sometimes with her antics and that was saying something, because she was _Suzuki Sonoko_. “You sure do love your detective otaku boyfriend, don’t you? You actually bothered remembering _all_ _that_?”

And then Ran shot her a look, her motherly _stop-talking-bad-about-your-brother_ kind of expression that tugged on your heartstrings and made you feel guilty for absolutely no reason, and chastised. “Be nice, Sonoko. He’s attending this heist for you when he has no interest in Kaitou KID at all!”

Sonoko then snorted, loud and clear in response to that, her previous feelings of guilt vanishing like wisps of smoke. Ran stayed slightly confused and bewildered at Sonoko’s reaction, clearly not expecting it, but otherwise chose not to comment, and Sonoko wondered if she should enlighten her best friend on the possible recent activities of Kudo Shinichi.

 _Not interested,_ Sonoko thought, her inner voice laced and dripping with sarcasm. _Yeah, right. He had the heist notice deduced before I even showed it to him._ She paused then, thinking for a tad bit more, before coming to a conclusion and rolling her eyes. _What a tsundere._

* * *

 

KID darted around the corners nimbly, paying no heed as sweat trickled down his forehead and stayed uncomfortably damp below his thick latex mask. He tugged at the collar of his inspector uniform he’d swiped earlier from an unsuspecting officer for more breathing space, eyes darting back to the horde behind him every so often. The task force chased swiftly after him, hot on his heels with heavy, disorganized footsteps and KID groaned internally at his mistake as he tried to shake them off.

 _Of course_ normal people wouldn’t bother remembering their identification number! He had lowered his guard as a certain detective prat had went off to London and was hence not present to interfere with his heist. KID huffed out a laugh; the task force had _certainly_ improved now that they had been able to trick him into messing up.

He abruptly made a turn into the restroom, his pace never faltering in the slightest, and clambered up into the air vent with a cheeky grin. Too bad for the taskforce, he _always_ had a plan B.

Sneakily replacing the cover of the air vent back, he shuffled through the narrow space on his knees and elbows and proceeded forward. The chaos and footsteps of the officers chasing after him came to a sudden halt and he snickered at their audible noises of confusion and panic.

_“We lost KID!”_

_“Reporting, level 2 restroom, we lost sight of KID!”_

There was a few more seconds of murmured exchanges through the intercom, and KID frowned, straining his ears to hear the conversation that was muffled through the air vents.

To his horror, he heard his death flag instead— the rattle of metal and some scuffling… and an affirmation of “ _KID sighted in vent 4! Proceeding to chase!”_

He inwardly gave a choked sob, despairing at how the intelligence of his taskforce had seemed to magically _evolve_ overnight, and then picked up his crawling pace (literally), because otherwise his family (and Shinichi) would have to visit his arrested ass in jail, and that wouldn’t do.

Kudo Shinichi, world renowned detective, finding out he’s an internationally wanted criminal _and then_ visiting him in jail?

…Yeah, nope. He didn’t even want to imagine it.

So with that thought, he set his lips in a firm line, eyes blazing with determination.

_Time to gas the hell out of them._

* * *

 

KID held his trusty card gun firmly in his hand, having made it safely out of the air vents. The familiar weight of his card gun was comforting despite how he was basically hanging off the Clock Tower’s minute and second hands with his feet perched dangerously at the ledge of the clock face. The amazed chatters of the crowd below him and the motors of the helicopters were slightly muffled by the projector screen he had placed over the face of the Clock Tower, deceiving his fans and taskforce alike that he had ‘stolen’ the hands of the clock. KID chuckled at the simplicity of his audience.

He then fired unwaveringly at the intercom held in Inspector Nakamori’s hands, cutting him off mid-speech (which he hadn’t bothered actually listening to) and thwarting his plans to call for backup. The middle aged man’s eyes widened comically as the card flew past him and lodged itself in the wall, the wind cutting sharply against his cheeks. KID snickered.

“Excuse me, Nakamori _keibu_ ,” KID called out through the whirring of the motors and engine in the background, although with a cheeky grin and somewhat unrepentantly. Inspector Nakamori only looked at him with unconcealed disdain as if he’d killed his pet dog, and KID felt a slight bit offended by that, because he was a gentlemanly thief who would _never_ stoop to such lengths. “I’m afraid that there’s not much time for games tonight. It seems like the joker is in my hands and the ball is in my court.”

Without paying any attention to Inspector Nakamori’s indignant splutter of protests, he continued merrily with a razor sharp grin. “The party all leads up to here,” he dramatically announced, and tapped the edge of the clock face with the right sole of his pristine white shoe. He hid a frown at this point, realizing with slight confusion that the sound of the motors whirring was getting ridiculously loud and he had to actually raise his voice at this point. “That is, the code on this clock, for you detectives to solve—”

And then the ingenious projector screen plan _backfired_ on him completely as it rippled and _wrapped and strangled him in a chokehold_. He barely held back a squawk and mentally chanted ‘poker face’ repeatedly with an expression akin to panic, clutching onto the hands of the clock for dear life as the projector screen attempted to _throw him off._

 _I heard nothing about a tornado from the pretty weather lady,_ he thought to himself sarcastically, scrambling to free himself out of the clutches of the evil, _evil_ screen projector, and then peered up through the gaps of the screen. He subconsciously wondered about Inspector Nakamori if he’d experienced death-by-screen-projector, but then all thoughts flew out of his mind when he spotted the helicopter that was hovering right above the projector screen. Or more precisely, the figure who was inside the helicopter. KID swore up and down his heart had stopped beating for a good second or two.

The helicopter continued flying dangerously near the projector screen, the wind from the spinning blades of its wings causing the screen projector to ripple and billow, effectively disillusioning the audiences, but KID could care less.

For the love of _god_ , was that _Shinichi_? KID couldn’t help but start freaking, his thoughts running around like a speeding bullet train without breaks. _What_ was he _doing_ here? Kudo Shinichi didn’t spend time dealing with phantom thieves, so _why_ was he here?!

His eyes darted back to the helicopter to reconfirm his nightmare (maybe he’d seen wrong, it was night and _dark_ and the helicopter wasn’t even _that_ close) and immediately wished he hadn’t done so.

Shinichi, all decked out in his Teitan High uniform was leaning through the open door of the helicopter carefully, peering to get a glimpse of the situation behind the screen projector, and all KID could think of with his short-circuited brain of his was _why didn’t he change out of his uniform?_  and _he_ _looks really good in that help—_

KID quickly turned his back on Shinichi (and the helicopter) and freed one hand to tilt his top hat further down, letting the moonlight cast shadows on the top half of his face. He couldn’t risk having Shinichi recognizing him, because then it meant a visit from Shinichi with him in jail.

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves which practically had started going crazy since he’d realized that it was his pen-pal who was making his heist _impossibly_ difficult in an attempt to help his taskforce arrest him. And who was _also_ pointing a gun at him from where he stood in the helicopter, KID realized with a start after he took another quick, almost frantic, glance at his nightmare come true.

Sure, Shinichi had good aim, but was he _really_ going to shoot _through the projector screen?!_ He couldn’t possibly _aim_ if he couldn’t see _anything_ , KID thought incredulously, his heart pumping so hard with adrenaline he could hear it thumping like bass in his head. His mind raced at a thousand thoughts per second, searching for a way, _any way,_ to get himself out of this mess, and because he was _KID The Phantom Thief,_ he eventually managed to figure out one just in the nick of time.

Reaching out with one hand, he clasped and fumbled around with the hooks of the projector, and grinned instinctively despite still being in a rather precarious position with half of his body already hanging off the ledge of the clock. He draped himself with the curtains of the screen projector before letting go of his clutches onto the clock hands, and fell to the ground with and ‘oomph’ together with the billowing curtains of the projector which eventually smothered several audiences and served as cushion for his landing.

Quickly disguising himself as a civilian, he blended himself into the crowd and squeezed his way out of the stampede of fans.

Now that Shinichi was here, the Clock Tower was as good as safe. Codes and fake diamonds had _nothing_ on Shinichi.

His lips curved up.

_Heist status: success._

* * *

 

_Dear Shin chan,_

_u were iffy about writing me?? i thought we had a bond stronger than that!!!! maybe u thought i was a serial killer? : <_

_also i read the news!! it said u went to Kaito KID’s heist?? (_ _・・。_ _)_ _ゞ_

 _why the sudden interest?? Didn’t u mention last time that u weren’t interested?_ _＼_ _(;_ _´□｀_ _)/  he must have been shocked by yr sudden appearance!! Shin chan is amazing after all, it wouldn’t have been easy for him!! o(_ _≧∇≦_ _o)_

_im glad he got away though, it’s thanks to him they found out the diamonds were fakes!! If KID never held the heist, no one would have noticed!! ><_

_As expected of KID~_

_Ahhh, shin chan, don’t actually catch KID, okay? i like him a lotttttt and u know that, i’ll be sad if u do : <_

_Almighty and great detective of the east, pls go easy!! (((o(*_ _ﾟ▽ﾟ_ _*)o)))_

_Love love loooveeee,_

_kai chan <3_

_p.s ok!! 23 rd!!_

* * *

 

_Dear Kaito,_

_No, I didn’t think that you were a serial killer. It was more along the lines of a weird kid with really bad writing techniques and too much time to spare and also the type of person I usually would avoid like the plague, I guess._

_Oh, the clock tower heist? I didn’t realise that it was in the news, but anyway, I got summoned there by the Ran-Sonoko duo, and attending the heist was less of a hassle than trying to say no to the spawns of Satan._

_Kaitou KID is exactly like what I had expected—really flamboyant and arrogant, either that or he’s stupid. What kind of thief prances around in a white tux at night? I doubt he’s dumb though, he’s quick on his feet and he thinks fast, so I’ll give that to him._

_His heists seems rather interesting, too, and it’s…different from all the criminal activities I’m used to. But I’ll stick to homicide, so don’t worry about me catching KID. I’ve got murderers and actual criminals to chase down, after all._

_Speaking of murderers, there was a case recently that someone literally killed his childhood friend using letters. Apparently the letter was infused with a mild concentration of some sort of poison that would kill a person over time if accumulated._

_I guess you were lucky your letter found me instead of that guy._

_So, be careful when handling stuffs from strangers, Kaito, and remember to watch your back. I may be paranoid but somehow I have a really bad feeling about something… It might just be the influx of murders I’ve been running into lately, though._

_Also… stop calling me shin chan._

_Yours Sincerely,  
Kudo Shinichi_

* * *

 

“Shinichi? Are you done?” Ran called out from outside his hallway, her light blue coat fitting snugly against her lithe frame. Her hair, black like ebony, framed her face with small little curls and she brushed and tucked a lock behind her ear. Peering in around the open door of the study room, she took a few curious steps in.

Shinichi was seated at the study desk, folding a slip of paper with a satisfied expression Ran rarely managed to see in Shinichi. He gingerly slipped the paper into an envelope, and Ran couldn’t help but grin. “Writing again?”

Shinichi managed a nod as he pushed himself away from his desk and stood up, stretching his sore limbs. Ran continued watching him in amusement as he gathered his thoughts, because Shinichi _really_ wasn’t an honest person, but Ran knew better.

“Yeah, to Kaito,” he replied nonchalantly with an air of I’m-not-actually-as-emotionally-invested-in-this-like-you-think-I-am, but Ran noticed the way he had smoothened out the edges of the envelope, and the way he carefully dusted it off after sealing it.

She chose not to comment, because that would lead to a regression in Shinichi’s social life, because even with mere letter writings, it was still better than when he had absolutely zero communication with anyone sans Sonoko and her, the police force notwithstanding. Instead, she asked slyly, “will you _ever_ be meeting him? Two years of back and forth writing should be enough for a meeting, shouldn’t it?”

Shinichi hummed, considering as he turned to grab his navy green cardigan out from his closet. “Actually, we tentatively set a meeting in about a few days’ time,” he answered, slipping on his cardigan over his shirt. “I’m not sure as to what we are going to do, though. Maybe I’ll give him a tour of Beika?”

Ran blinked in surprise at his answer, having not expected that. They were actually meeting? A soft smile graced her face as she watched Shinichi contemplate seriously on his possible date locations when he hadn’t even realized that it was a date.

“Oh, alright,” she teased, interrupting him from his thoughts after a good few minutes of Shinichi mumbling to himself where he should bring his pen-pal to, because she was actually pretty excited for their first outing in ages (Shinichi had a really hectic schedule). “Stop your fawning; it’s getting slightly out of hand. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about your promise today,” Ran accused jokingly as she jabbed a narrow finger at the flustered detective.

“Fawni— I’d _never!_ ” Shinichi had actually looked horrified _and_ flustered at the same time, and Ran rolled her eyes at Shinichi’s denial. “And I remembered,” he countered derisively, but with enough affection anyway. “You wanted to go to Tropical Land despite my really, _really_ busy schedule so here I am accompanying you to go to a theme park of _death_ because amusement parks are like playgrounds for _murderers_.”

And then, very vindictively, Ran thought to herself that she hadn’t punched any walls around Shinichi in a very long time.

So she did.

Unsurprisingly, they made it to Tropical Land in record time because Shinichi very wisely chose to stay silent and go along with his best friend’s wishes, and Ran was ever so pleased, because she had really been looking forward to it.

But at the end of the day, when the moon glowed dully in the midnight sky and the wind blew harshly against her skin as she stood at the entrance of the amusement park alone without any trace of her friend in sight, Ran wished she’d listened to Shinichi.

They should never have came to Tropical Land.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I…actually kind of like Sonoko and her antics, if you couldn’t tell.
> 
> Also if you’ve watched and still remember the clock heist, KID had actually used his card gun to unhook the projector screen instead of just reaching out, but I chose to use his hands instead because the wind was particularly strong here and I wasn’t sure if the card would go off course. 
> 
> The heist notice is also slightly different from what you hear and read in the subs of the anime because I took the heist notice and directly translated it because it seemed too direct for a heist notice for me. In the original, it was something like “Upon this Saturday, under the brilliant moonlight presented by the midnight bell, I’ll take the famed clock tower.” I’d thought that KID would have been more roundabout hence I did it this way.
> 
> In the original manga and anime, Shinichi also hadn’t known that the thief was KID but Kaito would have prolly mentioned KID occasionally in his letters stroking his ego LOL Shinichi would then prolly had an idea of who KID was.
> 
> That’s it for now, thanks for sticking with me! :>
> 
> Signing off,  
> MissParasol


End file.
